


Legacy of Blood

by Storywhisper



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: More characters to be added as they appear - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2018-10-06 10:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10332341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storywhisper/pseuds/Storywhisper
Summary: Why run from the monsters when they're inside your head? William Afton had it all - a beautiful wife, beautiful children, and a business that would eventually lead him to fame and fortune... but there are some monsters that can't be erased, no matter how hard you try. With the death of his only daughter, William Afton's perfect life begins to fall apart - leaving his son Michael to pick up the pieces.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My very first FNAF fanfic.  
> Slow start, but hopefully you'll stick around for the story as I figure out my lore and headcanons for these characters. Be warned, however, that I am a college student so updates happen when they happen, I have no schedule. Basically, so long as I am not drowning under a mountain of course work - all will be well.

Chapter one,

William Afton’s smile was all charm as he placed his hands politely on top of the table, one finger tapping a familiar beat. “I must apologize.” He said with an almost sheepish smile. “I will admit that the design choices I made were a joke, one that was obviously in bad taste. I did not intend for those particular blueprints to see the light of day – you see, it’s an inside joke of sorts.” He turned his lilac eyes towards Henry, who had remained silent up until that point.

“I want to assure everyone that the blueprints you saw are indeed a joke.” Henry said as he got to his feet, moving to stand in front of the screen. “As you can see from the blueprints included in your package today, changes were made to the animatronics. I assure you that they are perfectly safe, and the opening of Fredbear’s family diner, and Baby’s Circus World, will continue without so much as a hitch.”

“We were told,” Mr. Silas said, his eyes drifting towards William before moving to settle on Henry, “that the… joke blueprints were actually made a reality. So tell me, how can you promise us that these robots are safe when they include features such as… child luring?”

“Because the features are named that as a joke.” Henry assured him, “Child luring is actually a voice sync that is able to calm children down when they are scared. You’ve seen how large our animatronics are, now imagine being the size of a small child. Obviously they may appear a bit frightening until children become use to them. These features are simple jokes.”

-

“Will, I could kill you.” Henry said as they sat across from each other in the small diner near the office building where the meeting had taken place. “What the hell were you thinking, I mean seriously… what the hell were you thinking?” He reached across the table and flicked his business partner on the forehead.

William closed one eye before sighing, loudly. “It really was a joke, Henry.” He said, for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. “Don’t look at me like that,” he added when Henry leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. “No one was supposed to see those blueprints. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about how they even saw the light of day?”

“No, Will.” Henry sat forward again, unfolding his arms. “I’m actually more concerned about you right now.” His head cocked slightly to the side. “What’s going through that head of yours right now?”

“What do you mean?

“You aren’t even sorry.” Henry accused, “There’s not a single bit or remorse in your face right now.”

“What are you even going on about, Henry?” William demanded. “What am I supposed to feel sorry about?”

“I covered for you today, Will, but you and I both know that those features are not what I said they were.”

William looked down at his untouched sandwich. “Henry…”

“We’ve been friends for years, Will. You’re the closest thing I have to a brother… and I know damn well I’m the only family you have left. So please… tell me the truth.”

-

"Daddy!"

Anna was five. Her hair was gold, like her mothers, and she had more energy inside her tiny body than any child William had ever encountered – including her two brothers. William barely knelt in time to catch her in his arms as she flung herself at him. She was dressed in a nightgown he’d bought a few days ago, one designed to look like a Princess dress. Her tiny arms wrapped around his neck as he lifted her up, cuddling her close. She smelled of children’s shampoo, and the natural body soap his wife had bought a few weeks ago.

“Did you bring me a surprise?” Anna asked.

“I was only gone for a couple hours, love.” William laughed as he carried her into the family room, where his wife, Maria, was curled up on the couch with the two boys, a large storybook sitting across her lap. “Hello, dear.” He greeted.

“How did the meeting go?” Maria asked as she lowered the book, much to her sons’ disappointment. Michael, Anna’s twin brother, reached out and tried to take the book away, only for it to be snatched out of his reach by Michael.

Vincent was fourteen already, and William wasn’t quite sure what to make of his eldest son. Before Vincent had come along, William had sworn off not only marriage, but also children. Vincent had turned Maria from a fling into a wife, and eventually William had caved to his wife’s demand for more children. She felt empty as Vincent grew older and less reliant on her.

Maria was one of those women who was simply meant to be a mother. She was happiest when she had someone to care for – and William would never deny her the praise of saying that she was a fantastic mother to his children.

“Fredbear’s will open in a month.” William told her as he sat down next to Michael, Anna wiggling her way free from his arms to sit with her older brother. Vincent liked to pretend that he didn’t like his younger siblings, but it was obvious that he had a soft spot for Anna.

“Does that mean Baby’s circus will open, too?” Anna asked eagerly. “Can I go when it opens? I want to see her!”

Maria laughed softly. “William, you’ve ruined our daughter for normal toys.” She chided him, “What are we to do for the twins birthday when you’ve shown them such fantastic things!”

“Will simply have to have all their birthdays at Fredbear’s.” William said with a wink at Anna. “Henry’s wife makes an amazing pizza.”

“I wanna go!” Michael said suddenly. “I wanna go see uncle Henry!”

“You’ll see him this weekend.” William laughed. “We’re throwing a party to celebrate everything working out in the end.” He leaned back against the couch, and Maria noticed how exhausted he looked.

“I think it’s for bed.” Maria announced, getting to her feet. “Michael, can you help Anna brush her teeth?” she asked.

“Got it.” Vincent hoisted Anna into his arms and then shot Michael a look. “Come on, squirt, let’s go.”

“Mom said Anna, not me!” Michael argued.

“Doesn’t matter.” Vincent jerked his hand towards the stairs, “Let’s go.”

Once the three kids were gone, Maria turned to look at her husband. “Did everything really go alright?” she asked.

“Everything went fine, Anna.” William still had his head back against the back of the couch, his eyes closed. “You worry too much.”

“You look exhausted.”

“Henry and I had to have a long talk about our plans for the future.” William admitted, “I ended up telling him a lot more than I planned to tell him…” he trailed off. There was one secret that he had kept his entire life – Henry was the first person he’d ever told about what went on inside his head. The voices, the ideas and the horrible, twisted fantasies he came up with when the world around him was simply too quiet.

If he could stay busy – he could outrun his demons – but when the world was silent, everything crashed down on him and there was no saving him from the monster that seemed to live inside his very soul.

“I see…” Maria put on a pretty smile, once William saw when he opened his eyes to look at her. “How about I make you feel better tonight?”

William smiled faintly. “Sounds like a very good idea to me, love.”

-

It was two days until the party, and William was annoyed. Vincent had headphones in and was doing a fantastic job at pretending his father didn’t actually exist.

“Explain.” William ordered as he yanked the earbuds out of Vincent’s ears.

“It’s not my fault that he freaked out!” Vincent hissed as he turned in his desk chair to look at his father. “He said nothing scares him, so I showed him something that would scare him.”

“What did you show him exactly?”

Vincent looked away.

“Vincent.”

“It was a stupid video someone at school was talking about… it was bloody, that’s all.”

“Bloody?”

“Some kids killed a damn puppy.” Vincent still wouldn’t meet his eyes.

William felt as though someone had dropped ice into the pit of his stomach. He hesitated before speaking. “D-Do you enjoy watching stuff like that?” he asked.

“No!” Vincent shouted. “Why would I enjoy something like that?” he stared at his father for a moment.

“I only ask because… if there’s problems, Vincent, we can find someone who can help you work through them.”

“I’m sure it’d be a big help, dad.” Vincent snorted. “If there’s people out there, how come you never had anyone help you work through your problems.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not stupid.” Vincent narrowed his eyes – the same shade as William’s own eyes. “I see the way you look at us sometimes. It’s like we’re not even people. You do it to mom most of all. It’s like you’re just going through the motions, which is weird because everyone else does this stuff naturally, and you have to stop and think about it.”

William hissed quietly before shaking his head. “I’ve never been an emotional person, Vincent.” He explained. “I don’t express myself very well, but that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with me. You know I love your mother very much.”

“Maybe if you tell yourself that enough, you might believe it.” Vincent mocked. “You don’t love her – you don’t love me… hell, I’m starting to think that the only person you actually love is Uncle Henry.”

-

William mused over everything as he took a sip from his wine glass. The party was in full swing, and children were constantly running up to the animatronics, amazement written all over their small faces. His gaze constantly found Anna, who had parked herself directly in front of Baby. His daughter was staring at the robot with complete awe written over her face, and occasionally her small hand would reach up as if to touch, and then it seemed she remembered the warning William had given her before they’d even reached the location where the party was being held.

“They are not toys, Anna. They are robots, and that means there is a lot of complicated things working inside of them that make them function. If you touch them, you might break them.” William had warned as he bent down to help her put her shoes on. “You must promise me that you will never get close to one of them…” he hesitated, lifting his gaze to stare up at Anna’s delicate looking face.

“I promise, Daddy.” Anna smiled at him.

“Don’t be alone with them.” William said quietly. “If the other kids leave and you’re alone in with one of them, I want you to promise me that you’ll follow the other children.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter why.” William narrowed his eyes.

“I promise.” Anna sighed, her bottom lip poking out. “But I really want to play with Baby.”

“You can see her, Anna, isn’t that enough?”

“I guess so.”

William reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had never imagined that having children would turn out to be so damn complicated. Was he attached to them? He wasn’t sure of his answer in regards to that question. It was easy to say that he had some form of attachment to the lives he had helped create. He enjoyed spending time with them, but there were also times when he found himself wanting nothing to do with them – those were the times when he wandered into his lab at home and locked the door, ignoring the annoyed look Maria sent his way.

He wasn’t normal. William had realized that a long time ago. The thing inside his head wasn’t normal – his thoughts weren’t normal – and the way he regarded his children wasn’t normal either. He knew that most parents absolutely treasured their children. For him, his children were simply things… he cared about them only because they were his – and it would be horribly difficult to explain to everyone if anything ever did happen of his children.

If the monster in his head ever took control and his fantasies became a reality – anything happening to his children would raise a red flag – drawing every eye straight to him. No. It was better for everyone if his children remained safe and sound- growing the way they should.

William started in surprise when he opened his eyes and found Henry standing directly in front of him. “Sorry.” He blurted out.

“You were completely zoned out.” Henry said softly. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine.” William lied. “I was just thinking about Anna.”

“What about her?”

“She doesn’t listen at all.” William laughed. “How do you handle it?”

“Mine twins are still a lot younger than your kids, Will.” Henry laughed. “They haven’t started getting into much trouble yet… Though Sammy did manage to walk his chubby ass to the end of the couch last night and bump his head when he fell… Though I think Charlie may have helped him.” He added with a grin.

William laughed, he couldn’t help it. He adored Henry’s children in a way he didn’t his own. He had felt guilty at first when Henry’s wife gave birth to the twins, and then the guilt turned into delight when he saw the way Henry’s face lit up when he talked about his children. Seeing Henry happy was one of the very few things William enjoyed in life that didn’t have to do with the mess inside his mind.

Everyone knew that they had been friends since middle school. Both had been social outcasts, too caught up in the strange ways their minds worked to make friends who stood no chance of understanding them. Meeting each other had been the best thing that ever happened to them. Henry was a foster kid, and William was the son of a wealthy businessman. Both lacked any real form of love until they met each other – they’d even gone so far as to have a double wedding when they both decided they’d found a woman worth marrying (though in William’s case, Maria was pregnant).

“Charlie sounds like she’s going to be a handful.” William chuckled. “We should have a get together soon.” He added thoughtfully. “Michael’s…”

“Michael is a teenage boy.” Henry laughed, “Will, he’s going to get into just as much trouble as we got into. It’s been a long time since you and I were his age, so don’t even pretend to know what’s going through his head. Let him figure it out, and he’ll come to you if he needs help with anything.”

“Yeah, yeah.” William waved his hand dismissively before turning back to look at Baby. Anna was gone. He frowned for a moment before shaking his head, returning his gaze to Henry. “I was just thinking… The animatronics for Fredbear’s might need to be reworked a bit.”

“Why do you say that?”

William pointed to where Funtime Freddy was being swarmed by children. “These ones are barely holding up to being touched constantly. The ones are your place are supposed to walk around and interact with the kids, right?”

“That’s the idea.” Henry looked slightly concerned. “You don’t think they’ll be up to it?”

“I didn’t say that!” William laughed, “What I meant is that they’re probably going to require more repairs than the Circus Baby robots.” His eyes searched for Anna again, still not finding her. “Where is Anna?”

Henry turned, following William’s line of sight. “I don’t know.” He admitted. “Wasn’t she just there?”

“I thought she was.” William shook his head. “I’m going to go see if she’s with Maria, will you excuse me?”

“Sure, no worries.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight blood and minor (hardly there, but if you use your imagination like I do, it's there) gore warning on this chapter. 
> 
> I also want to include a note here - As I'm sure you're able to tell from the first chapter of this story, and the title and the summary of the story: This story covers the Afton family. What that means is that I'm not writing a story about good people, or a nice happy family.   
> I'm writing a story about very flawed, and very bad characters. I like writing bad characters doing bad things - I don't write them to have very many redeeming qualities, and I'm pulling a lot of this from some of the things I'm learning in my college psych courses (at least these student loans mean I can write better fanfiction!) 
> 
> Anyway, William is about to take a flying leap over the moral event horizon, and he doesn't look back after he jumps. There's more notes at the end of the chapter, so take a look at those once you're finished.   
> Also, reviews, suggestions etc are more than welcome :) I like talking to the people who read the stuff I write, it's the whole reason I write stuff!

Chapter two,

 

There was nothing left to bury. William sat in his lab, head in his hands. He had taken Baby apart once she was returned to the lab beneath the Circus. He had known what he would find, but it still didn’t make anything easier. There was so much… blood. How could such a small girl have so much blue inside of her?

William’s expression remained the same as he carefully began the process of cleaning Baby out and making minor repairs. Some distant part of his brain was screaming in horror – but it was so distant that William wasn’t even conscious of it anymore. He used an air compressor to finish the last of the cleaning before he closed the front of Baby’s casing and went to get the hose from the far wall.

He’d never been able to test how it would all work – what would actually happen if one of the animatronics did grab a child and stuff them inside. Funtime Freddy was the only one designed with a holding chamber within him – and even then, the chamber had limited oxygen. If the child wasn’t retrieved within a reasonable amount of time – it would be dead by the time William took everything apart to find it.

Baby had no such holding chamber – there was a smaller section within her where the Ice cream maker could be engaged, but when her casing closed, everything was forced back into place – whether there was a living obstruction or not.

He used the hose to wash away the blood and gore off the floor. His hands and the sleeves of his shirt were stained red. William walked over to Baby and studied her deactivated face. She had been talking nonstop since he brought her into the lab to work on her. She was excited, her AI telling him how pleased she was to be on stage, to perform for children, she even told him how she made ice cream for the first time ever.

“Will?”

Henry’s voice sounded far away.

William blinked and turned to face his friend. “Yes?”

“What… is that blood?” Henry crossed the room and grabbed hold of William’s hands, turning them over in search of any wounds. “Where did this all come from?”

William blinked a few times before he lifted his head and met William’s bright blue eyes. “I… I don’t know.” He whispered. “I feel… weird.”

“Will… did you take your pills?” Henry’s voice softened as he carefully steered the other man over to one of the benches set along the ways of the repair lab. “Did you?”

“I don’t know.” William shook his head as if trying to clear cobwebs. “My head hurts… Something’s wrong with me.”

“Did you bring your medicine in your case today?” Henry asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay, give me a minute.” Henry ran his fingers through his hair before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. A few moments passed as he searched for a number and finally found it. Another moment passed, “Vince, it’s Henry.” He paused. “I know. I imagine it’s pretty crazy over there right now but I’m sure they’ll find Anna soon. Listen, your dad is here at the lab but he forgot to take his medicine, you know which one he takes right?”

“It’s the large bottle.” William mumbled.

“He said it’s the large bottle.” Henry paused again. “Yes, that one. Do you think you can bring it down to the Circus Baby lab? Just have the guards up top call me when you get here and I’ll come up and get it from you. Yes, thank you, Vince, you’re a life saver.” Henry ended the call and glanced back at William. “None of the blood is yours, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

Henry nodded. Slowly he turned to look at Baby. Another heartbeat passed before he walked over to the robot and turned her back on. “Hello, Baby.”

“Hello Mr. Henry!” Baby greeted. “Is Mr. Afton done cleaning me?”

“Yes, looks like he is, but he’s not feeling very well right now.” Henry told her. “Baby, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Mr. Henry.”

“Did you see a little girl at the party today, she had blonde hair, she would’ve been alone.”

“I made her ice cream.”

“Did you?” Henry closed his eyes for a moment. “What else?”

“I’m… I’m not sure… what happened.” Baby blinked, her voice changing slightly, the happiness fading from it. “I put her inside of me… she screamed… but no one heard her… and then she was silent.”

“I see.” Henry closed his eyes for a moment. “Thank you, Baby, you can go back to sleep now.”

“Yes, Mr. Henry.” Baby shut herself down.

Henry walked back to where William was sitting, staring at the floor. His hands curled into firsts before he reached down and grabbed the front of William’s shirt, hauling him up off the bench, only to slam him back against the wall. “Are you happy?” he demanded.

“W-What?” Willaim lifted his eyes, staring at Henry’s face. “I…”

“You programed them. You created them to do this. Are you happy?” Henry hissed. “Your daughter is dead because of you.”

“Anna…” William looked down for a moment. “I told her… don’t go near… not toys.”

“She’s a child, Will… children don’t listen.” Henry’s shoulders began to shake before he seemed to collapse in on himself, leaning forward until his face was pressed to William’s shoulder. “No one can know.”

William tensed.

“Will, no one can know what happened today.” Henry pushed away from William, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand. “Damn it… Look at me.”

William looked at Henry. “For better or worse, we’re in this together. If anyone finds out what Baby did, the whole company will go under. Promise me you won’t tell anyone!”

“How could I?” William laughed, “I killed my daughter.”

Henry winced. “Just… Anna’s just missing, right?” He smiled. “The police will look, and you need to play the part of the concerned father. I need you to just keep taking your damn medicine. You can’t go crazy when there’s so many police around.”

“I will.”

“Good.” Henry sighed again. “I’m going to go find you a new shirt to wear. Go use the staff showers to clean up. I’ll bring you your medicine when Vincent gets here. Make sure no one sees you like this.” He turned away and started to move towards the doors leading out of the lab. “and Will… Baby’s out of order.” He said over his shoulder. “She talks too much.”

“Y-Yes.”

“Go shower.”

“Okay.”

-

Steam rose around him as he leaned his forehead against the tile wall, the water ran red as it circled the drain near his feet. Henry had taken the news a lot better than William had expected, but then again, William was pretty sure Henry was more worried about the money they had both sunk into their respective parts of the company. If anything happened to William’s side of things, it would reflect bad on Henry, and Henry couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong when they were so close to opening day at Fredbear’s Family Diner.

“Like you would even care if anything went wrong.”

William snapped his eyes shut, cursing softly beneath his breath before he opened them. If he tried to turn his head in the direction of the voice, he knew that nothing would be there. He only ever saw this one out of the corner of his eyes, it never came into direct sight like some of the other horrors his brain conjured up when he forgot to take his medication.

The man was standing just within sight, if he could even be called a man. He was in the vague shape of a man, and his voice was different from all the other voices William heard. He was purple… always the purple guy who had such horrible ideas that he liked to share with William when the world was quiet – or William’s mind was weak.

“You couldn’t care less if Henry’s business went up in flames.”

“Lie.” William shook his head. “I care about him.”

“Did you care about Anna?” The purple guy asked as he took a step closer, coming into clearer view of William. “You don’t seem sad?”

“I don’t know how to be sad.”

“You should cry.”

“I don’t cry.”

“Hmmm,” Purple guy tucked his hands into his pockets and sighed, “They’ll figure it out, you know. They’ll all know what a monster you are if you don’t pretend a little better.” He leaned close to William’s face, and it was all William could do not to jerk back from the grinning creature his mind had conjured up.

“It wasn’t supposed to be…

“It wasn’t supposed to be ours, I know.” He sighed dramatically. “Next time it won’t be.” The grin widened, showing more teeth than should ever be possible to fit inside a human mouth. “Next time it’ll be someone else’s kid, and we’ll do it ourselves.”

“I don’t want to kill anyone.”

“Liar.”

“I don’t.”

“Yes you do.” Purple guy laughed again and began to fade away. “don’t forget, I live inside your head, Will. I know everything you want to do to the people around you, including Henry.”

William jerked like he’d but stabbed. “What?”

“How unfair… that Henry gets to have two when you only have one.” Purple Guy sighed sadly as he faded completely from view. “Just think about that… Why does he get two when you’re down to one… maybe you should fix that.”

“Will?”

William jerked and spun to face Henry.

“Vincent brought your medicine.” Henry entered the sower carefully, and motioned for William to come to him. “Here. You were talking to yourself.” He added worriedly. “I’ve never seen you do that… not since we were kids that is.”

“Purple guy.” William snorted as he took the pill and popped it into his mouth, swallowing it dry.

“Ah fuck.” Henry shook his head. “That one is still inside your head?”

“Yeah.”

“I remember that one from when we were kids. Wasn’t that the one who told you it was a good idea to burn down the school?”

“I didn’t though.”

“But it still told you it was a good idea.” Henry reminded him. “Listen, how about we don’t listen to any voices inside our heads.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

“Bad idea,” A voice whispered, though it sounded weak and far away. “Not fair.”

“Thank you for being my friend, Henry.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Henry said in a worried voice. “When you talk like that, I think you’re about to check out on me.”

William shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I thought about ending things, Henry.” He promised him. “I only meant… well, thank you. You’ve always been there for me, when no one else ever was. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You’d be crazy, that’s for sure.” Henry laughed. “Completely and totally mental. You’d probably have ended up in prison when you were still a teenager.”

“The world might’ve been a better place if I had.”

-

Maria knew she was nothing more than a ghost, pretending to still be alive. She tucked Michael into his bed, having carried him up the stairs. His Spring Bonnie plush joined him a moment later, and Maria sighed at the sight of it. Fredbear’s had finally opened, but there was some delay in the opening of the circus – William didn’t say it out loud, at least not where she could hear him, but she was beginning to think that the Circus would never be what it was supposed to be.

It would not be a place like Fredbear’s, where everyone was welcome. No, it seemed that William’s plans for the Circus were now geared towards private events. He had changed more than she had, Maria realized. The man she had married seemed buried beneath some sort of mask – and no matter how she tried, she couldn’t reach him wherever it was he had gone.

He spent more and more time at the lab, and less time with his family. When he wasn’t at the lab, he was with Henry, working on the machines at Fredbear’s, doing repairs or making improvements. He hardly came home before Anna’s disappearance, and now she could count and still have fingers left over the number of times he had come home to see them in the past two weeks.

He claimed that he was just busy, but Maria knew better than to believe him when he lied. He was a good liar, she had known that before they were even married. She also knew that he never planned to marry her, Vincent had changed things when he was born, and William had simply gone and done what he saw as the right thing to do. That and William’s mother had been alive at the time and would’ve been disappointed in her son if he didn’t marry the mother of his child.

William’s parents had always been strange in Maria’s opinion. She had come from a very large and loving family – William’s family gave off a sterile and cold feeling, as if no one in the family actually knew how to love one another – they simply knew how to go through the motions of pretending. It had been years since she’d seen her in-laws, they had stopped in shortly after the twins were born, and that was the last she saw of them.

They could have died somewhere in one of their fancy vacation homes and Maria would probably never earn of it because William would neglect to tell her – if he didn’t see something as important, he didn’t share it with her, and the strangest things seemed to be unimportant to him. An injury at work that required stitches had gone unmentioned until she saw him carefully changing the bandages one night. He also had shown no emotions at all when Vincent had been hospitalized recently after coming down the a bad stomach bug. Her husband seemed more like a robot than the ones he created in that damn lab of his.

Almost as if conjured by her complaining thoughts, she heard the door alarm chime, informing the house that William had entered. Maria pressed a chaste kiss to her son’s forehead before she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She had just reached the stairs when she caught sight of William standing at the bottom of them.

“Was there a problem?” William asked.

“Michael’s having trouble sleeping.” Maria told him softly as she waited for him to come up. “He says he’s having nightmares.”

“Nightmares?”

“I think Vincent scared him again.” Maria dragged her hands across her face for a moment before reaching out to William when he stood in front of her. She wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face against his shoulder. “I don’t know what to do, Will.” She whispered. “I try so hard to get through to him, but he doesn’t listen to a thing I say.”

“What was it this time?” William asked as he wrapped his arms around her. “Did he show him another video?”

“No. I think he showed him something from your lab.” Maria eased out of his arm and fixed him with a look. “He says that there’s robots that try to attack him at night, and that his Fredbear plush talks to him.”

William schooled his face for a long moment. “I think it might be best if Michael sees my doctor.” He said carefully.

Maria’s face crumbled, tears leaking from her green eyes. “You think he’s like you?” she demanded. “Is my son like you?”

“Maria, calm down.” William distanced himself from her for a moment, looking pained. “We don’t know, but if he is, than it needs to be treated.”

“What if both of them are broken?”

“They aren’t broken, Maria.” William turned away from her, heading towards their bedroom. “I’m tired, and it’s too much to have this conversation with you right now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, Maria, that I can read between the lines just fine.” William turned to look over his shoulder. “If I’m so broken… why are you still here?”

Maria froze, her eyes going wide. “I didn’t mean it like that!” she cried.

“Don’t lie to me, Maria. You meant it exactly the way you said it. I am broken… aren’t I?” He smiled faintly. “So again, why are you still here? If our children are broken, then just leave. I’ll put them back together again without you if that’s how you want it to be.”

“That’s not how I want it to be, William.” Maria hugged herself, shoulders shaking. “What I want is my husband back. You’re never here. You aways leave and I’m the one stuck having to figure out how to balance the boys. I’m the one sitting here wondering what happened to our daughter, and you don’t even care anymore. It’s like you already gave up on us finding her.”

“I know the odds, Maria.” William’s voice was soft. “I can’t afford to hope for something that is so impossible. It’s been nearly a year now… I think it’s time that you gave up, too.”

“She was my daughter!”

“She was mine, too!” William rounded on her. “Don’t think for a second that I didn’t care about her, Maria, but she’s gone. She’s gone and there’s not a damn thing we can do to change it. So grow up!”

Maria froze.

“Grow up, Maria. Either be their mother or don’t. Either stay with me or don’t. I honestly don’t care either way.”

“What.”

“Do I need to say it clearer?” William cocked his head, an almost lazy smile on his lips. “I don’t care anymore. I married you because of Vincent, not because I loved you. We had the twins only because you pressured me for more children. I never wanted children, I never wanted a wife, I knew there was something wrong with me, but you thought you could fix me. You can’t. You can’t fix what is broken inside of me… no one can.”

“You talk like that and just expect me to leave my children with you?” Maria laughed, a bitter sound. “I knew a long time ago that you would never love me the way I should be loved, but I loved you. I loved you and I wanted us to work together as a family.”

“You wanted to change me into what you thought I should be. And I’m sure, Maria, that my money helped make me the perfect man for you.” William smiled again, that same strange smile from before. “How many nice things have I bought you over the years? How many trips and vacations have I paid for? When was the last time you held a job, sweetheart?”

“I’ve been raising our children, asshole.”

“Oh, insulting me now?” William laughed. “Maria, let me ask you this. If I offered to give you five million dollars just to go away and leave me alone, would you?”

Maria froze.

“I can transfer the funds into your account tonight. You can pack your things and be on your way to wherever the hell you want to go. Leave the boys with me and I can promise that I will continue to transfer a thousand dollars a week into your account for the rest of your life.”

Maria’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she found her voice. “Why are you doing this to me?” she whispered.

“Because I don’t want you.” William hissed. “I don’t love you. I don’t want you in my life… but those boys are mine. They’re broken just like me. You wouldn’t know how to handle them.”

“And you think you can?”

“I know I can, Maria.” William leaned against the wall for a moment, looking exhausted. His lilac eyes were practically glowing now. “Leave.”

“You really… want me to just go?”

“I’ll buy you a plan ticket so you can go to your parents. I’ll transfer the money. Go wherever you like… but leave me alone.”

“Fine.”

William’s eyebrow rose.

“If you want me gone so bad, I’ll go.” Maria shouldered past him, heading towards their room. “You can tell your sons that you made me leave.”

William smiled darkly.

-

He was seeing the world through a purple haze. It was the strangest feeling, knowing the words coming out of his mouth were him and yet not him. He wasn’t sure when the last time he took his medication was – he thought he’d taken it today but maybe not? All he knew was that one moment he was just talking to Maria, and the next, the Purple man had gone from the corner of his vision to standing directly in front of him. A horrible moment had passed when he wasn’t sure if it was real or not – and then the man had stepped inside of him.

The purple haze filled his vision, and his body seemed completely outside of his control – the words spoken from his lips were his words and yet not his words. He would never have said those things to Maria, and yet he was saying them. The things he had thought inside his head were spilling out of his mouth – and the horrible desire to just be rid of Maria was all he could think about.

He couldn’t kill her – her screams would wake the kids, and the kids wouldn’t stay quiet. Killing his whole family would bring too much attention down on him – he had to get her away from him. Far away.

Still with his vision tinged purple, William booked Maria a ticket back to her parents, and transferred the promised sum of money into her account. It was a hefty sum, but he could make it back with only two party rentals – Afton Robotics was doing far better than even he had imagined.

Maria stood in the doorway of their bedroom, holding tightly to the strap of her duffle bag. “Y-You really want me to go?” she said quietly.

“I sent your flight info to your phone.” He didn’t look at her. “Go.”

“Fine.”

William listened to her footsteps as she walked down the hallway. When the alarm announced her exist, he flopped backwards, tossing his laptop aside. The Purple haze finally faded, leaving him exhausted.

“It was for the best.” The Purple Guy was sitting on the bed beside him, arms curled around his knees, looking almost childish. “We can’t plan things with her here.”

“We aren’t planning anything.” William mumbled.

“Yes we are.” Purple laughed, “Charlie?”

“What about her?”

“We have to make things fair, William. You hurt, so it’s only fair that Henry hurts too. You can comfort him through his pain when it’s all over.”

“I’m not killing Charlie.” William rolled over, shivering when he felt hands touching him.

“You don’t have to do anything, Will. I’ll do it all for you.” He promised. His breath felt real as it caressed William’s cheek. “Just like tonight. When things get hard for you, I’ll be right there to help you do what needs to be done. You won’t remember a thing, I promise.”

“What…”

“Shhh,” The feeling of lips gently brushing over his cheek, it reminded him of the kisses his parents use to give him when we was small. “Just trust me, Will, I’ll take care of you when no one else will. I’m your only friend, Will. Just you and Me, like old times.”

William closed his eyes, feeling strangely comforted by the Purple Guy’s words. “Just us…”

“Just us.”

“Henry won’t forgive me.”

“It’s not you. It’s me.”

-

 The birthday party was packed, mostly because Henry had decided to host it at Fredbear’s. William held Michael’s hand as they walked through the diner. Michael’s lips were parted slightly as he took in the sight of the animatronics, currently singing on stage.

Vincent had already vanished into the game room, his eyes bright for the first time in a week. William smiled slightly when he caught sight of Henry and Sarah. Michael tugged at his hand.

“What is is?”

“Can I go say hi to Charlie and Sam?” He asked, pointing in the direction of the birthday children.

William smiled, “Sure thing.” He let go. “Please stay in this room or the arcade. Don’t go anywhere you aren’t supposed to go.”

“Yes, Daddy.” And Michael was gone, vanishing without a second thought. William hesitated a second, waiting to see if Michael would make it across the room by himself. He’d been clingy since Anna’s death, and Maria leaving so suddenly hadn’t done him any good. William had spent many nights now holding his son as he cried himself to sleep, wanting his mother back, wanting his sister back – and William being unable to give him the comfort he so obviously needed.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it.” Henry said when William approached them. “The boys here?”

“Michael is playing with the twins, and Vincent’s in the arcade with some of his school friends.” William answered, smiling faintly. “I brought a gift for them.” He held up the brightly colored bags.

Sarah reached out and took the bags from him. “I’ll put them on the table with the rest of the stuff,” she told Henry before disappearing in the direction of a table near the stage.

“How’ve things been?” Henry asked. “You haven’t been taking my calls.”

William hesitated a moment. “Maria left.” He said finally. “It’s been… hard.”

“Why did she leave?”

“I think the stress of dealing with everything finally got to her. The boys have also… been having issues.” William dragged his hands across his face. “Michael’s on medication.”

“Same as yours?”

“Exactly.”

“I’d say sorry, but at least he has you in his life. You’re able to understand him better than anyone else because you live with it every day.”

William felt a surge of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

“You’ve been taking your medicine, right?” Henry pressed. “I don’t need to go over to your house and count your pills?”

“Do I look like a child to you?” William laughed. “Anyway, I’m going to go check on the new Springlock suits I sent you.”

“Don’t…” Henry reached out and grabbed his arm. “Just… be careful okay?”

“What do you mean?” William frowned at him.

“The locks failed the other day, one of my employees nearly died.”

“Damn,” William looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Anything else I should know?”

“No. Just that the locks suck, but you probably already knew that.” There was something bitter in Henry’s voice now.

“What do you mean by that?” William wondered.

“It’d hardly be the first murderous thing you’ve built.” The moment the words left Henry’s mouth, it was obvious he knew he’d made a terrible mistake. His eyes went wide. “I didn’t mean that!”

William stepped back from him and wordlessly headed towards the backroom, his vision now tinted purple.

-

The suit was rather adorable. William slid his hands over the golden fur, a slight smile on his lips. “Spring Bonnie,” he said quietly. “You and I are going to be good friends.” There were already bloodstains on the suit, he doubted anyone else would notice if a few more were added.

He was on auto pilot as he wound the springlocks into place and began the process of slipping into the suit. There was a strange music playing inside his head, and he began to hum along to it as he placed the rabbit’s head on top of his own. There was a sort of safety inside the suit, as if he were someone else altogether now. His face hidden from view.

He headed towards the door, still smiling beneath his mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm writing William as a schizophrenic. I want to make it clear that I don't believe that the disorder itself is what makes William a bad person. Like everything else in life, it is what you choose to do that makes you a good or bad person, and William knowingly goes off his medication, and begins the process of making some very bad choices from this point on wards. 
> 
> Purple Guy is a delusion that William sees because of his disorder - it is not a ghost or anything else, it's simply one of the very many voices that William has inside his head. 
> 
> I just wanted to add this note at the end here so you understand a bit more about how I'm writing William, and will eventually write Michael and Vincent. 
> 
> Mental disorders don't make people good or evil - people make people good or evil. I say this as a person who has a mental disorder that she has to deal with every single day :) It's an uphill battle, but it's one I'm willing to fight if it means I get to be normal for a while lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short because the next one is a monster

Chapter Three 

- 

When most people met the Afton Family, they first looked at William Afton, and then they looked at his two remaining children. Sometimes there was obvious pity in their expressions, especially if they knew the story behind the disappearance of Anna Afton and the eventual leaving of Maria. Their gazes would drift to Michael, only seven years old.  

Michael was a pretty child, the same as Anna had been. His hair was a light golden brown color, and his eyes were a very light shade of almost lilac, mixed in with the flecks of green that Anna’s eyes had been, and their mother’s eyes were.  

Vincent Afton, however, was often overlooked in favor of his younger sibling. Vincent’s face was narrower, more like his fathers. It was not an unattractive face by any means, but it was not beautiful like Michael’s face. His features had begun to change drastically as his teenage years began to drift by him. At sixteen, Vincent’s temper had also begun to change. He’d always had something of a wicked sense of humor, delighting in the things that most people ran away from – but that too had begun to mellow with age – and perhaps because of Michael and William both. 

Vincent knew his family was broken. It wasn’t hard to figure out when he put the pieces together. Both Michael and his father took medication to control what was wrong inside their heads, but sometimes the medicine didn’t work and they would do things that normally people didn’t do. Normally people didn’t talk to people who weren’t there, or scream about monsters that no one else could see. For a while, it drove Vincent insane. Then he met Scott. 

Scott was Vincent’s only friend, much in the same way that Henry was his father’s only friend. They had met outside of school on one of the rare days that Scott had actually showed up. Scott was sick. Vincent didn’t know exactly what was wrong with him, beyond it having something to do with his lungs. It made Vincent said because Scott actually had a very nice voice, and listening to him talk actually calmed Vincent down quite a lot when he was upset.  

Even Michael liked Scott, and Michael didn’t like anyone… well, he was scared of most everyone.  

The two teenage boys, both the same age, were sitting side by side in one of the racing arcade games. Vincent crowed loudly when he won, but winced when he saw the game over screen and the request for more tokens. “Guess that’s over with.” He slouched in the seat for a moment. 

Scott shrugged his shoulders before hauling himself out of the game seat to a little girl take over. Vincent followed suit and trailed after Scott as they left the arcade hall. “So, what’s new?” Scott asked over his shoulder. “Any plans that I should know about?” 

“Plans?” Vincent frowned at him.  

“You always have things going on inside your head. It’s almost summer so I was sure you’d have something planned for it.”  

“Oh,” Vincent laughed awkwardly, “Nothing fun. I’m actually going to ask Uncle Henry if I can work here for the summer.”  

“What for?” Scott asked, “isn’t your dad like… rich?” 

“My dad does have a lot of money,” Vincent admitted sheepishly, “But I don’t want to ask him for money all the time. It’d be nice to earn my own, you know? Plus, it’s not like I have any plans for the summer. I like being busy. You know how I am.” 

“Yeah, you hate it when the world goes quiet for too long.” Scott acknowledged. “The voices in your head get a little loud.”  

“Don’t even.” Vincent warned. “That’s our secret.” 

And it was their secret. Vincent had never told anyone, not even his own father, that sometimes there were extra voices inside his head. It was never a problem, he knew they were just signs that his brain didn’t work the way everyone else’s brains worked. He didn’t see things like Michael did, thank god for that, but his brain was broke like every other member of his family’s was. 

“Sorry,” Scott said sheepishly. “Anyway, let’s go find your uncle and see if he has a job for you.” Scott took hold of Vincent’s hand and dragged him towards the employees only hallway. 

“Uh, I think he’ll be with everyone else.” Vincent said, a slight smile tugging on his lips.  

“I wanna explore.” Scott said over his shoulder. “You’re just an excuse.”  

“I feel so used.” Vincent said dramatically. 

Scott laughed, but the laughter caught in his throat as he came to a sudden stop. “The fuck…” 

Vincent followed Scott’s line of sight, and paled. There was a gold version of Bonnie standing at the end of the hallway, staring at them. Vincent tightened his hold on Scott and pulled. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.” He whispered. 

“Why is that Bonnie gold?” Scott demanded. 

“Scott, please.” Vincent pleaded. “We really shouldn’t be here.”  

The gold Bonnie took a step towards them, raising a hand, waving it cheerfully. 

“Uh…” Scott finally started backing away. “I know your dad makes these things… but can he make them a little less… creepy next time?” 

“I’ll suggest it to him.” Vincent hissed. “Come on.” Finally dragging Scott back into the main area, Vincent couldn’t shake the icy feeling in the pit of his stomach. They wandered through the diner for a while, checking out some of the larger side rooms where private events could be held, until Vincent nearly ran into Henry.  

“What are you two doing lurking around back here?” Henry demanded, a slight smile on his otherwise comfortable looking face.  

Vincent thought Henry had the sort of face that fit a person who ran a place for kids to come and play. He seemed trusting and kind, unlike William whose sharper features made him look harsh and unforgiving, not to mention the uncomfortable way he often watched people – as if he were judging them and found them lacking.  

“Exploring,” Vincent confessed, “Also waiting for a chance to talk to you.”  

“What did you need to talk to me about?” Henry asked, relaxing a bit.  

“I was wondering if I could work here during the summer.” Vincent explained. “I want to earn some extra money.”  

“Tired of asking your dad for money?” Henry chuckled, “I don’t blame you. I will need help during the summer, but only if your dad okays it. He’s a bit weird sometimes, so you need to check with him on it first before I say okay.” 

“How about me?” Scott asked, “Can I work here, too?” 

“You two really are two peas in a pod.” Henry laughed, “William and I were the same way. Scott, right?” 

“Yes, sir.”  

“Uncle Henry, and the same rules apply. If your parents okay you working here, then I see nothing wrong with it. But you need to check with them first before I say yes or no.” Henry instructed. 

“Deal.” Scott said, his voice bright and bubbly. “My parents don’t really care what I do, but they’ll be happy if I’m out doing something that earns money. They spend a lot on my medical bills as it is.”  

“Are you sick?” 

“Not really.” Scott said dismissively, “anyway, it was nice to meet you!”  

“It was nice meeting you, too, Scott. I hope we get to meet again when things are a little less crazy.” Henry’s smile was warm as he left the boys standing in the empty show room. 

Vincent relaxed for a moment until his eyes drifted towards the corner of the room, where the gold Bonnie was standing. It didn’t move when he looked at it, just continued to stand there when it’s head tilted very slightly to the side, one ear cocked forward.  

The second thing about the rabbit that caught Vincent’s attention was the bright red splotches of blood that marred its golden fur, and what looked like tiny handprints.  

“Whoever designed that thing… might want to rethink the blood.” Vincent whispered.  

Scott followed his line of sight and sucked in a sharp breath. “was it bloody when we saw it in the hallway?” he asked. 

“I think so.”  

“Maybe… maybe there was an accident?”  

“I think we… I think we should go back to the party, don’t you?” Vincent forced a smile onto his lips. He didn’t want to tell Scott that he saw the gold Bonnie move, taking a slight step towards them. There was something in the rabbit’s hand – something that looked like a cake knife.  

Only the knife was still dripping dark blood onto the floor around it. Vincent had also noticed something on the floor beside the rabbit. He couldn’t make out what it was because it was in lying in the rabbit’s shadow, but he could see something brightly colored, like the table clothes used in the party room – the words celebrate flashed in Vincent’s eye.  

“ _We shouldn’t be here.”_  

One of the voices whispered to him.  

“ _Bad things… very bad things are happening…”_  

“Come on,” Vincent swallowed as he took Scott by the hand and pulled him from the room, leaving the mysterious bloody rabbit in there. Part of him wanted to go get Henry – the other part of him was conscious of the fact that he hadn’t seen his dad in a while.  

It was stupid… his dad didn’t turn into a mechanical rabbit. The fact that it was the fact that it was one of the animatronics that was worrying him, not the fact that he thought his father was a murderer. Vincent loved his father as much as he was able – William wasn’t exactly a loving man, and once Vincent’s mother had left, his father’s attentions had gone to Michael, who needed more care than Vincent did – but Vincent didn’t think his father was a murderer… did he?  

Maybe some part of him did… the part of him that knew there were pieces inside his father that were broken. Jagged pieces that were only too easy to get cut by. As they walked, Vincent looked over his shoulder – the damn rabbit was leaning out the doorway. When it saw Vincent look back, it waved again.  

Vincent grimaced before turning to face forward again.  

They re-entered the party room, and the first thing Vincent noticed was Michael crying his eyes out. Henry was kneeling beside him, awkwardly patting the small boy on the back. “It’s okay, Mike.” He was saying. 

“What happened?” Vincent let go of Scott and ran to his brother, kneeling down to take him from Henry.  

“Fredbear gave him a little scare.” Henry explained. “I tried to find your dad but he’s nowhere to be seen.” He sounded annoyed.  

“I’m right here.” William shot Henry a look before he knelt beside Vincent and lifted Michael’s face, “What are you crying about?” he demanded.  

“The… it was scary!” Michael sobbed.  

Vincent tightened his hold on Michael, reading the annoyance in his father’s body language. “It’s fine, dad.” He said softly. “Scott and I will take him outside. I think something is wrong with Fredbear though.” He pointed to the animatronic in question, which seemed to be slumped over. 

“I’ll check it.” William said, standing up again. “Henry, I think you should have Bonnie distract the kids for a bit.” He said as he passed his partner. “I’ll check Fredbear’s programing and then bring him back out.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Henry said, obviously relieved that he didn’t have to deal with the broken animatronic.  

Vincent watched his father turn the robot back on, and lead it away from the main room. He watched for a long moment, trying to shake the feeling that something awful had just happened, but it refused to leave. 

“Why don’t we go to the prize corner, no one is over there now.” Scott suggested.  

Vincent awkwardly carried Michael over to the other room, and plopped him down at one of the long tables that kids could use to draw pictures. “Do you wanna draw?” he asked.  

“No.” Michael shook his head. “The thing is in here.”  

“What scary thing?” Vincent asked. 

“That.” Michael pointed. 

Vincent turned and helped, seeing that the puppet was halfway out of the box. He’d seen it give prizes to kids, but he’d never seen it try to climb out of the box. Not only that, but it was making the most god awful noise he’d ever heard – it sounded like a crying child.  

- 

William felt numb as he finished wiping the blood off his hands. Fredbear looked almost innocent now. The mechanical eyes watched William as he cleaned up, almost as if judging him. He turned to face the robot and sighed, loudly.  

“You wouldn’t understand,” He told it. “How could you? You’re just electrical wiring and a fancy computer that makes you think you’re real.” He reached up and touched the bear’s muzzle, smiling faintly. “I know it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, but there’s a nice bit of irony here, Fredbear. See, Charlie never liked you. Bonnie is Charlie’s favorite, but you were the one who decided to break… and thank you for that. I was just going to leave her in the backroom, but then you broke and everything worked so perfectly.” He tapped the muzzle again and began to strip his shirt off, noticing that there were tiny cuts decorating his arms from having worked with the sharp inner parts of the animatronic.” He winced slightly before tugging on one of the staff t-shirts, in their awful purple color.  

“Did you cut yourself?” Henry asked from the doorway. 

“Yes.” William glanced over, holding up the arm that had been sliced the deepest, causing him to bleed all over his shirt. “I think that’s why you let me do it, right?” he laughed. “Just so Sarah didn’t yell at you for having to wear these awful shirts.” 

“The shirts are charming.” Henry argued as he retrieved the first aid kit off the wall. “You’re just…” he turned when Sarah came into the room. 

“Um, William, I’m sorry but there’s been… well, there was an accident.”  

“An accident?” William turned to face her, “What sort?” 

“Vincent’s hurt.”  

William glanced at Henry before grabbing a handful of napkins to stop the bleeding on his arm. He followed Sarah from the back repair room, towards the prize corner.  

“I don’t know what happened,” Sarah was saying, looking worried. “The Puppet… it has never done anything like this before.” She glanced back over her shoulder at William. 

William frowned, “Did it malfunction?” he asked. 

“Will… that’s what’s so odd about it. It was like it meant to do it.”  

 

- 

As if his day couldn’t get any worse. Vincent sat on one of the coloring benches in the Prize Corner, wincing as Scott struggled to keep the ugly purple t-shirt pressed against his back, which was on fire now with the worst pain Vincent could ever remember having felt before in his life. “I didn’t even see it move.” He told Scott. 

“I didn’t either.” Scott agreed. “One second it was just staring at you from the toybox and the next… it was just on top of you.” He glanced nervously at the brightly colored toybox that the puppet had come out of. Sarah, when she heard Scott yelling for help, had quickly flipped a small switch on the back of the puppet, and it had gone limp. Two other employees had dragged the puppet back over to the box and dumped it inside. “I never realized how big it was.” He added. 

Vincent couldn’t have agreed more with Scott on that. The puppet dwarfed the two teenage boys, and was likely a head taller than Vincent’s father, who was by no means short.  The Puppet had always seemed so… nice. It was a bit creepy, sure, but it never did anything but hand out toys to kids. Vincent had never imagined it… attacking him. 

“Vincent?” His father had come into the room, wearing one of the employee shirts. He was holding a stack of bloody napkins to his arm. For a long moment, he seemed to freeze up in the doorway, and then he snapped back to himself and moved forward to inspect his eldest. “What on earth happened?” 

“We were just sitting here,” Scott explained. “The Puppet sort of crawled out of its box, and the next thing any of us knew it was on top of Vincent, sort of clawing at his back.”  

“What the hell…” Henry stared at the toybox for a long moment. “How did you stop it?” 

“Sarah did something to its back.” Vincent hissed, flinching when his father carefully pulled the shirt back to inspect the wounds there. “I think she turned it off.”  

Henry winced. “She must’ve broken the power core.” He said quietly. “The Puppet is so large that it needs two power cores to function. If you remove one, it is unable to move on its own. It’s still… functional, but only on a mental level.” He stepped over to check on Vincent. “Stitches?” he asked.  

“No.” William shook his head. “Just bandages, none of these are very deep. Thankfully we didn’t make his nails that sharp.”  

Henry looked as if he were going to argue, but the argument died in his throat when Sarah came into the room, looking worried. “Have you seen Charlie?” she asked. 

“No.” Henry frowned. “I’m sure she’s around.”  

“With the animatronics acting up, I’d like to know where my daughter is, Henry.” Sarah folded her arms against her chest, shooting her husband a furious look.  

Henry sighed before he shot William an amused look. “Duty calls. I need to go find my little monster.”  

“Good luck,” William smiled. “I’m sure she’s around here somewhere.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay - I ended up hating everything I had already written, and I went back and trimmed a whole lot of stuff out to just move the stupid story line forward to where I need it to be.  
> Obviously I'm not happy with this chapter >_<
> 
> But, story line is moved forward so hopefully I can get back on track.

Chapter Four

Michael wasn’t dead.

Vincent repeated that over and over inside his head as he waited for the police to arrive and speak with not only him, but the group of kids who had caused the accident to happen in the first place. His brain felt fuzzy, full of nothing and yet buzzing with the screams that had altered him that something inside Fredbear’s pizzeria was very, very wrong.

The Marionette was broken and he’d gone to fix it – Henry was busy, and Sarah was in the back making more pizzas for the birthday party taking place that day. It was an impromptu party for Michael’s upcoming birthday, Vincent had thought it would be a good idea for Michael to get out of the house and spend some time with kids his own age.

He knew Michael was having a hard time at school, and his nights at home weren’t helping either. Michael woke most nights screaming about monsters coming to get him, or so that’s what their father told Vincent when he came home from his night shifts. They were trying different cocktails of medicine to try and help him through the nightmares and delusions, but nothing seemed to help him – Vincent had thought he was doing the right thing when he invited kids from Michael’s school to Fredbear’s for the party.

Michael had begged not to go. His Fredbear plush told him something awful was going to happen if he went – Vincent really hated that damn plush toy once Michael started saying it was talking to him. The strangest part was that their father seemed almost amused by Michael’s claims of the bear talking, and would lift the bear out of Michael’s arms and jokingly talk as if he were the bear. Michael always got a funny look on his face when that happened, and seemed almost happy.

“Fredbear sounds like dad.” Michael once told him, “Just less static when daddy talks.”

Static…

Vincent could never manage to get his hands on the bear to confirm his theory or not. He eventually forgot about it as the days passed and Michael started sleeping less and less. A new toy appeared amongst the pile of toys Michael already owned, and Vincent knew they were prototype toys for the animatronics his father had been working on in the workshop – half finished creatures that Vincent thought wouldn’t look out of place during Halloween – but animatronics always seemed frightening when they were still in the process of being built.

It wasn’t until the tiny gold spring Bonnie appeared in Michael’s collection did Vincent recall the night two years ago when Charlie had gone missing. The police then had been unable to find any sign of the girl, beyond the bloodied party dress and knife they’d found in the party room where Vincent, Scott and Henry had been speaking.

They had checked the entire diner over – but Charlie’s body was never recovered and the theory was that the murderer had killed her and then taken the body with him for some unknown reason.

“Vincent?”

Vincent lifted his head. Henry was standing there, ringing his hands nervously. “Officer Grace needs to ask you a few questions.”

“O-Okay.”

“Hey, Vincent.” Officer Grace turned out to be a young woman with light brown hair and a rather charming sort of smile. “I know you probably want to get to the hospital to check up on your little brother, but I just need to ask what you saw.”

“I… I was in the Prize Corner.” Vincent’s voice cracked. “It was Michael’s birthday so I wasn’t supposed to be working, but Scott… Scott’s awful with the Marionette, it doesn’t like him very much. It broke so I went to fix it… the spring on the box gets stuck and just needs to be loosened back up so it can jump scare the kids with their prizes after they put the tickets in.” he was rambling, he knew he was rambling. “I left Michael in here with the other kids… I wasn’t gone very long. I heard Michael crying, but he cries a lot so I didn’t think anything was wrong until I heard people screaming.”

Officer Grace was writing quickly on her notepad. “So you came running in here to see what was wrong?”

Vincent nodded, his throat tight. “Michael was… He was hanging from Fredbear’s mouth. There was blood everywhere.” He closed his eyes, but opened them when the horrible image of his brother’s body, soaked in blood, hanging from the bear’s mouth, flashed in front of his eyes. “There’s a release switch on its jaw. I hit it and I caught him before he hit the floor. His…”

“I know.” Officer Grace reached out and touched him gently. “Vincent, your dad is on his way now to come pick you up. Henry’s going to sit with you while you wait, okay? I don’t want you leaving on your own.”

“He won’t.” Henry promised her. “Is it okay if I take him into the back to get him some new clothes?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Officer Grace was already heading over to a group of parents, holding tightly to their frightened children.

“Come on.” Henry took Vincent by the hand and led him out of the main area, into the back service room. “Your dad was at the Circus, so it shouldn’t take him more than a couple minutes to get here.” He explained as he grabbed a spare uniform shirt off the shelf. “Wash up over there.” He pointed to a hose in the corner.

Vincent followed his orders, his brain numb to everything around him. When he was clean, he pulled the new shirt on and went to sit in the employee breakroom. He put his head down on his arms and closed his eyes, feeling tears beginning to fall there.

This was his fault – he had brought Michael here thinking it would be good for his little brother to socialize – to stop being such a baby all the time. Maybe if he had friends he would finally snap out of whatever metal issues he was having.

Vincent didn’t want Michael to be like their father.

For all of his social grace and charms, William Afton was broken and Vincent knew it. He saw it often now that he worked at Fredbear’s. There were times when William came to talk with Henry, and the possessive, crazed look in his father’s eyes when he was with Henry was frightening. Henry, for his part, seemed almost used to that behavior, and would correct it if it got out of hand.

When he wasn’t here, William was at the Circus, designing robots – Vincent couldn’t remember the last time their father was home to care for Michael – and often he left Michael alone in the house at night, despite the little boy’s fears about monsters in the dark.

Worst was the horrible thought Vincent had had not long after he started working the nightshift and saw the problems with the free roaming mode the robots entered at night. What if the monsters in the dark weren’t all inside Michael’s head?

It seemed crazy, but Vincent had begun to notice things weren’t the way they were supposed to be at home. He noticed the cameras first, located in the hallway and inside Michael’s bedroom. They were small cameras, not the sort to draw attention, but they were the same make as the ones used inside Fredbear’s.

They were made by Afton Robotics.

Vincent thought the first time he noticed them that maybe it was so his father could keep an eye on Michael while he worked at the Circus – it was only a mile or two away from their house after all – so maybe the cameras made William feel safe about leaving Michael home alone to sleep.

On one of his brief trips to the Circus to drop some paperwork off to his father, Vincent had overheard some techs talking about the amount of power used by Fredbear’s – and the issues the animatronics there were having because of their interactions with kids. The repair team that was sent to fix Fredbear and Bonnie every two weeks complained that the robots needed nightly repairs the way the Circus animatronics were worked on – every two weeks meant damage was being allowed to get worse.

This meant that William was keeping tabs on all locations where he had animatronics -again that nagging voice tried to tell Vincent that not all was right in the world – that maybe, just maybe there was something going on that he should talk to his father about.

“Vince?” A soft touch on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts. Sarah was pale, but smiling as she brushed his dark hair back from his face. “Your dad’s here. He’s waiting in the hallway with Henry.”

Vincent nodded and pushed his chair back.

“Don’t blame him for this, Will.” Henry was saying as Vincent stepped into the hallway. “He had no way of knowing those little bastards were going to pull something like this.”

Vincent froze – his dad… blamed him?

“I don’t.” William started to say and then turned, his gaze resting on Vincent. He cocked his head to the side before holding out his hand to his eldest son.

Vincent wordlessly crossed the space between them and hugged his dad tightly, burying his face against his shoulder as the tears he had tried to fight finally spilled out. “I’m sorry.” He sobbed, “I’m so sorry. I should never have brought him here – it’s all my fault.”

“It’s not.” William soothed as he wrapped his arms tighter around Vincent. “Vince, it’s not your fault. The ones to blame are those little bastards who thought shoving Michael’s head into an animatronic bear’s mouth was a great fucking idea.” His grip tightened for a moment before loosening. “Let’s just get to the hospital, okay?”

Vincent sniffed and nodded.

Henry suddenly reached out and caught hold of William’s arm, his gaze worried. “Will, promise me something?”

“What?”

“Don’t do anything you’re going to regret later?”

William smiled, “I won’t.” his arm still around Vincent, they walked out the back door. Henry watched them leave, his heart aching inside his chest.

“What did you mean by that?” Sarah asked.

“The better question is what did he mean by his answer.”

-

 

The at home care took over caring for Michael once William decided to return to work. Vincent stayed home during the day, ensuring that his little brother had everything he could possibly need – and went back to working at Fredbear’s during the night. The house seemed suddenly very strange with just the two of them living together – because Michael was little more than a ghost now – a tiny little boy hooked up to machines that let the world know he was still alive.

Vincent checked on him as he was getting ready to leave for work. The machine beeped softly with each beat of Michael’s heart. He approached the bed and sat gingerly on the edge of it, using his fingertips to brush some of the long brown hair out of his face. “Hey,” he said softly. “I gotta go to work now, Mike. I’ll be gone for just a little while, but Dad said he’s coming home tonight so he’ll probably stop by to talk to you.” He glanced at the Fredbear plush. “Not that he doesn’t already do that.”

He knew now that the plush toy was actually a small robot – designed to mimic voices it heard. The toy was actually Henry’s idea, but he had no idea how it had gotten from the Circus prototype department and into the hands of William’s son.

William played innocent on the whole thing – seemingly just as surprised to discover it.

The bear had been mimicking their dad’s voice was months – just tiny phrases trapped within the AI and repeated back at various times.

The animatronics in the home office were moved to the circus – it was the first time in years that Vincent had seen them, and he realized that they looked exactly like the drawings on Michael’s wall. He could have killed his father when he made the connection. What sort of father enjoyed scaring his child so bad? Did he get some sort of sick thrill out of it? Or was there something else going on.

Vincent gave up trying to get answers out of his dad. William was hardly home when Vincent was, and when he was, there was simply an awkward silence that stretched between the two of them. Vincent tried to tell himself that it was just the stress of Michael’s condition that was causing it – but he knew there were other things going on now that he tried his best not to think about.

There were more cameras in the house now – including ones in his bedroom. He had complained about it, but the only response he got from his father was a suggestion that if he was uncomfortable he could leave.

It had shocked Vincent to the core. He wasn’t legally allowed to leave, but with each passing day the offer became more tempting.

He mused over everything as he sat there. “I gotta go… I love you, okay?” he bent down and kissed the top of Michael’s head. “I’m sorry for being such a shit brother to you, Mike… I hope one day you’ll forgive me.”

He headed towards the bedroom door, pausing when he heard a strange noise beside the closet. He started at it for a long moment before walking over to it and opening the door. There was a horrible moment when Vincent wondered if he’d lost his goddamn mind – because there was no explaining the creature sitting there staring at him.

It looked like… it looked like a fox… it’s hand was a hook, and razor sharp teeth gleamed inside its mouth.

The hook slashed out even as Vincent slammed the closet door shut. He gasped as it sliced his cleanly across the chest – backing away as his shirt quickly changed from purple to a deep red. He stumbled backwards, tripping over a toy phone.

There was something beneath the bed. He screamed, clawing at the floor as he struggled to right himself, but his head was spinning. The thing beneath the bed bit at his leg, tearing into it. He screamed again, his voice cracking as he kicked the animatronic monster away, dragging himself towards the door.

“You don’t like them?” William was standing there, his arms folded against his chest. “I thought you’d find them funny, Vince. You liked scary stuff when you were a kid.”

“D-Dad…” Tears stung Vincent’s eyes. “Dad… help.”

William smiled and bent down, helping Vincent to his feet. “Come on, let’s get you patched up.” He supported Vincent as they walked together down the hallway.

Vincent’s head was spinning like mad, there was so much blood now, and he was leaving puddles of it behind him as they walked. “H-Hospital…” he managed.

“No.” William shook his head. “It’s not that bad. I’ll patch you up.” He promised as he entered the passcode for his workshop. He helped Vincent inside, letting the teenager collapse onto the floor near one of the workstations. “Do you know why?”

Vincent stared at him.

“You don’t do you?” William crouched down, taking Vincent’s face between his hands. “You have no clue…”

“Dad… please.” Vincent felt tears gathering in his eyes now. “Please… I’m scared.”

“Michael was, too, don’t you think?” William stood up, leaving Vincent sitting on the floor. “He was probably terrified when you let those little shits hurt him. You were supposed to keep him safe, Vincent. You couldn’t even do that much right.” He shook his head in disgust. “You know, William didn’t want this. He still doesn’t want this.”

Vincent’s eyes went wide.

“I know, shocking ain’t it?” William smiled. “That one person can be two people. Your dad… he does love you, I guess I should tell you that before everything is said and done. He loves Michael more, of course, probably because he and I both think you’ll end up as fucked as we are if you live.”

“Don’t… please… don’t.”

William picked the knife up off his work bench and walked back to where Vincent was cowering. “It’ll be quick, kid.” He promised. “Charlie didn’t even scream when I killed her. Granted… I fucked you up a bit more with that animatronic.” He crouched. “It’s name is going to be Foxy, isn’t that nice? A pirate fox to entertain the kiddies, and you and Foxy will be great friends, right, Vince?”

Vince stared at the knife – his dad had gone completely mental…

“The same way Charlie’s good friends with them now. See, no one ever thinks to look in the most obvious of places, Vince. Charlie’s been there the whole time. Soon, you and Charlie will be together as well.” William glanced up as the Foxy animatronic, still broken and bent, came into the room. “I have a new skin for him there.” He pointed towards the suit on the table. “I’ll put his exoskeleton inside it, and then… you.”

“Dad…”

“Hush,” William touched a finger to his lips. “Close your eyes now. It won’t hurt.”

“Please don’t… I love you… please.”

“I love you, too.” William leaned over and pressed a mocking kiss to Vincent’s lips. “But love is a bitch.” He dragged the knife across Vincent’s throat.

The pain was strange, distant almost. Vincent stared at his father’s blood spattered face – and then everything seemed to fade away.

_There was a pretty light in front of him – he wanted the light. He reached towards it, but something dark curled around him, dragging him backwards. He screamed, trying to free himself, but he couldn’t. When he opened his eyes, he was standing somewhere new and there were voices all around him._

_“The kids will love him, Will!” Henry sounded excited. “You did a great job with him.”_

_“I think so.” William turned to look at Vincent, and Vincent wanted to tear his throat out – but he couldn’t move. “Hello, Foxy.” He greeted in his soft voice. “Can you sing us a song?”_

_Vincent had no voice, but the animatronic did – and it hurt. It hurt to move, it hurt like a thousand needles being shoved into his body – he sang, and danced, and he made people happy… but everything hurt so much._

_His gaze drifted towards the main stage – and he saw the image of a little girl standing there in her blood-soaked party dress – there were tears in her eyes as she waved at him._

_Vincent sadly waved back._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time skip time,  
> Also, please note that there's a scene at the end of this chapter that is a bit messed up - William's an asshole, and a bit too touchy feely with his kid. Just know it's there so it doesn't come as a shock to you.

Chapter Five,

-

At fourteen years old, Michael Afton looked like a younger version of his father. It was something that amused most people when they met the duo, and confused Michael. His father had dark hair, cold eyes, and pale skin. In contrast, Michael had tan skin, blonde hair, and his eyes seemed warm and welcoming. It was only in the facial structure that the two looked alike in his opinion, but not many people bothered to ask his opinion on things.

Michael couldn’t really recall his childhood. He knew there had been an accident when his was seven years old, an animatronic had malfunctioned at his birthday party and injured his head. There were scars all over his scalp from the surgeries needed to put him back together again afterwards. His recovery had taken years – and Michael often felt like he had lost an important piece of his life while he dreamt.

He was sitting inside the garage workshop his father had used when Michael was younger and needed someone to keep an eye on him. It had been years since his dad used this space for anything more than storage, so Michael had taken it upon himself to clean the place out and set it up for his own projects, most of which involved the blueprints he’d found inside some boxes.

Michael knew his father was an inventor of sorts, but he’d never really had a chance to see any of the things his father made. Oh sure, he saw pictures of the animatronics when his dad’s employees stopped by to show him the promotional things they made for the Circus, and sometimes Aunt Sarah would stop by, and she had pictures of the old animatronics from her husband’s old restaurants, but he’d never seen an animatronic in person – not since his accident as a child.

Michael finished tightening the last bolt on the toy in front of him. He chewed nervously at his bottom lip as he tapped the tiny rabbit’s nose and waited. There was a moment where nothing happened, and then the ears twitched, it’s eyes slowly brightening as it seemed to shake itself awake.

“Hello,” Michael whispered.

“Hello,” The tiny gold rabbit whispered. “What’s my name?”

“Uh…” Michael blinked, “Plush…Plushtrap.” He said quickly. The name fit, since the design he’d used to make it was for one of the old Springtrap suits – the blueprints of which had actually been in the trash, not the box where he found all the others.

“Plush…trap…” The tiny robot said, tasting the name for a moment. “I like it!” he bounced happily on his feet for a moment. “What’s your name, mister?”

“Michael,”

“Michael.” Plushtrap nodded his head happily. “It’s nice to meet you, Michael.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Plush.” Michael got to his feet, picking the robot up off the work bench. He’d heard the sound of a car door closing, which meant that his dad was finally home. “Come on, I want you to meet someone.”

“Okay!” Plush said happily. He nuzzled in against Michael’s jaw as they walked up the small flight of stairs, into the main section of the large house.

Michael had always thought the house to be just a little too large for two people. Aunt Sarah had given him a funny look when he voiced his opinion, and she had looked at his father as if she were angry at him for something. His dad had just shrugged and gone back to drinking his coffee. Michael’s dad didn’t seem to like Aunt Sarah much, though Michael couldn’t figure out why that was.

“Michael, where are you?” His dad called out when Michael ducked into the large sitting room just off the entry way.

“Here,” Michael answered. “I wanna show you this!” he was excited.

Most people said that William Afton had good genetics – The pictures taken the year of Michael’s accident were hardly any different seven years later. He was handsome in a classic sort of way, his cold eyes were the only off-putting thing about his appearance. He’d worn a suit today, Michael realized, which meant he’d been meeting with the board members again.

There had been a lot of debates going on within the company, concerning the fact that Sarah Fazbear wanted to open another restaurant – despite all the problems the last two had had. Michael wasn’t sure if his father was for or against the pizzeria, he didn’t talk much about it when Michael was around.

“What’ve you got?” William asked as he slipped his dress shoes off and set them beside the door. Turning, his eyes instantly found the gold colored rabbit in his son’s arms. “What in the…” he trailed off when the rabbit lifted its head and stared at him. The eyes were a pretty green color. “Where did you…”

“I made him.” Michael had the toy out to his father. “It’s what I’ve been working on all year.”

William took the toy gently and inspected it, laughing softly when it squeaked in protest to him checking the joints. “How?” he asked.

“You… you had some blueprints in your old workshop, and there was some stuff in there too that I used. I kind of just broke things down until I could use it. Aunt Sarah also brought me some stuff from Uncle Henry’s workshop – like the computer chips and stuff. She also gave me a couple of Uncle Henry’s notebooks that explained how to program the AI. I mean, he’s really simple, but…” he trailed off, feeling suddenly silly.

“Mike, its’ brilliant.” William praised. “I didn’t make my first animatronic until I was in college.” He laughed softly and reached out to ruffle Michael’s hair.

“Dad, you went to college when you were sixteen.” Michael reminded him, “So I’m only a few years ahead of the ballgame. Plus, Aunt Sarah said that you were designing animatronics when you were still a kid, you and Uncle Henry both!”

“Designing them is a lot different from actually making them and having them work properly.” William reminded him as he handed the toy back. “and Uncle Henry was really the brains behind it all. He’s the one who came up with the original AI, I’ve only improved on it over time.”

“I wish I could’ve met him.” Michael complained.

“You did,” William said softly, his smile was somewhat sad. “you just don’t remember it because the last time you met him, you were still recovering from the accident.”

“Oh,” Michael frowned, “Okay, so I wish I’d met him when I could remember him.”

“I probably have pictures of him in the spare bedroom,” William said with a small shrug. “Maybe seeing his face will jog your memory a bit?”

“It can’t hurt.” Michael tugged Plush in against his chest, “I’m going to go look.”

“Have fun,” William laughed, “Don’t get into anything you aren’t supposed to.” He added after a moment. “Oh, also, what did you want for dinner?”

“Can we order Chinese food?” Michael asked.

“Sure, you want your normal?”

“Yes, please!”

“Deal.” William headed towards the downstairs office. Michael listened to the door close before he headed up the stairs towards the extra bedroom. The room was odd, in Michael’s opinion. There was a bed, but no sheets, and there were shelves along the wall that looked like they had been put there to showcase things – but they were empty now.

The closet, however, was Michael’s true goal. It was packed with various boxes, containing pictures and other documents that had been shoved in there over the years after they began to clutter his dad’s office too much.

Michael pulled the first box out and checked the day – it was a few years before his accident.

He carried the box to the bed and saw down, opening it carefully. There were pictures here, and some of them were of his dad with another man. Michael lifted the picture up and turned it over, smiling when he saw _William and Henry, 1982, Fredbear’s grand opening event._ He continued to look through the pictures until he came to one that made him freeze.

It was his dad and a pretty looking woman, they were laughing together in the picture, each one of them holding a baby. He turned the picture over.

_Will and Emily, w Michael and Anna._

Anna? Michael went to the closet and pulled out another box. In it, he found more baby pictures – each one was him and Anna. Anna’s pictures, however, suddenly stopped when Michael was five years old. She was simply gone, and pictures of his mom were gone as well – but there were pictures of another boy.

_Vincent,_ was written on the back of those pictures. His pictures stopped suddenly after the accident – and then it became just pictures of William and Michael.

Michael grabbed the last of the white boxes, and was surprised to see that it was filled with newspaper clippings. His heart was pounding when he saw the first one.

_Henry Fazbear, 40, dead from apparent suicide._

_Henry Fazbear, founder of Fazbear Entertainment, was found dead inside his home early Monday morning. This comes in the wake of an investigation into Fazbear Entertainment’s role concerning the disappearance of multiple children earlier this month at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria on fifth street.  
Mr. Fazbear was a suspect in the disappearances, but was released due to lack of evidence. Mr. Fazbear leaves behind his wife, Sarah, and no children. _

Michael studied the article for a moment before he picked up the next, and then the next, eyes widening with each new article.

_Two missing after birthday party at Freddy’s Pizzeria._

_What should have been a joyous day turns tragic with the disappearance of James and Lukas Michaels, 7, who were last seen attending a birthday party inside of Freddy’s Pizzeria. This marks the third such disappearance connected to the pizzeria this year – no suspects have been found, and police are still asking the public to come forward with any information concerning the missing children._

_-_

_Another missing child at Freddy’s Pizzeria.  
Joy Harper, 5, was reported missing after attending a birthday event at Freddy’s Pizzeria. Joy’s disappearance marks the third child to go missing from the pizzeria this year. Police questioned employees, but turned up no new information. _

_-_

_Twins reported missing from Pizzeria,  
A normal trip to Freddy’s Pizzeria turns tragic as Jason and Jacob Andrews vanish without a trace. Police are asking the public to come forward with any information that may help them locate the missing boys. _

_-_

_Freddy’s Pizzeria to open doors for a new generation of children._

_Henry Fazbear and his wife Sarah have announced that they will be opening a new restaurant next month, called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Mr. and Mrs. Fazbear are well known for their previous restaurant, which featured animatronic performers. Freddy’s, Mrs. Fazbear says, will also feature a new line of animatronic performers, built by Afton Robotics LLC.  
The robotics are state of the art and able to access police records to ensure that children are kept safe and protected within the restaurant. The new features are rumored to ensure that events which occurred at the previous location do not repeat themselves. _

_-_

_Man bitten by animatronic performer on closing day._

_The final nail in the coffin for the Fazbear name occurred today when a man was bitten by one of the animatronic performers at the Fredbear Family Diner. The man is in critical condition as of this writing. Witnesses report a large piece of the man’s head being torn away by the animatronic, leaving visible gore and damage.  
The Fazbear family has released no statement at this time. _

_-_

_Fredbear’s closes after murders – murderer still at large._

_Fredbear’s Family Diner closes its doors after months of investigation into the murders of three children, and the bodies of others found stored within the robotic performers. Mr. Fazbear has remained silent when questioned on the subject, despite the fact that one of the murdered children is his own son, Samuel Fazbear. It is also believed that one of the bodies recovered from the animatronic known as Fredbear, is in fact Mr. Fazbear’s daughter, who has been missing since 82._  
Samuel and his two friends were staying late at the restaurant to help set up for a birthday party, when the trio didn’t return home, police were called and the restaurant was searched.  
The bodies were not recovered until two weeks later when parents complained of the smell coming from the animatronics – while investigating, police also located two more bodies, believed to be that of Charlotte Fazbear, and Vincent Afton, both of whom were reported missing by their families after having last been seen at Fredbear’s Family diner.

_-_

Michael stopped reading, feeling a numb sense of horror. His brother had been murdered and stuffed inside an animatronic? He stared at the paper some more, trying to make sense of it. He moved a few more papers aside and then froze when he saw the last paper in the stack.

_Anna Afton missing._

_Five year old Anna Afton was reported missing this evening by her parents after a large party to celebrate the opening of Afton robotics and the Fazbear Family diner. Anna was last seen playing with a group of children. When questioned, the children reported that Anna stayed to watch one of the animatronics perform a song – when the children returned, Anna was gone.  
No one has come forward with any information – a sizable reward is being offered for any information regarding the missing child. _

So Anna was his sister.

“What are you up to?” William said from the doorway. His eyes looked funny, Michael thought as he glanced up.

“Did I have a sister?” he asked.

William blinked rapidly for a moment. “Yes.” He answered. “I asked you not to get into things.” He walked over to the bed and began to gather the papers up, shoving them roughly into the box.

“Did Uncle Henry kill himself because of all those kids going missing?”

“Michael,” William shot his son a look.

“He didn’t kill them did he?”

“Michael!” William grabbed hold of Michael’s arms and gave him a rough shake, scattering some of the pictures to the floor. “This is not a topic I want to discuss with you.”

“Dad…” Michael blinked up at his father, eyes widening. “I-I’m sorry.”

William’s grip relaxed suddenly and he slowly took his hands back, they were shaking slightly. “Michael, this… it’s not an easy topic for me, okay?” he said softly. “Henry was… he was my only friend, Michael. I loved him dearly and the last thing I want to think about is whether he was a murderer or not. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t miss him.”

“Who is… Vincent?”

William hissed out a breath before he sat down beside Michael, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I should never have let you in here.” He whispered. “God…”

Michael flinched, “I’m sorry…” he trailed off, “Just forget I asked, okay?” He moved to pick Plush up, but the tiny rabbit ducked away.

“Vincent Afton, 17, was reported missing by his father. A report was filed but his body was not recovered until three children went missing a few years later.” Plush said in a sing-song voice. “He was the oldest son of William and Emily Afton, older brother to Michael Afton, and Anna Afton.”

William stared at the plush toy for a moment. “I take it you gave him WiFi access?” he wondered dryly.

Michael winced and nodded.

William picked the toy up and sighed as he lightly let his finger move over the top of its head. It shut down with a small beeping noise. “Vincent was your older brother. You two didn’t get along very well because he liked to tease you.” He stared blankly ahead for a moment, and Michael couldn’t help but think his dad looked a little scary. “Vincent had a lot of issues, and he and I clashed a lot. He started working at Fredbear’s when he was 16, along with his best friend. I thought… for a while things seemed to be getting better, but his relationship with you was never really good. On your birthday, I let him take you to Fredbear’s so you could be with some kids your own age. That’s when your accident happened.”

“Did Vincent cause it?”

“I wasn’t there.” William reached out and ruffled his hair. “I was furious with him though, because he was supposed to be looking out for you. Instead, I bet he probably found the whole thing funny, right up until the moment you were hurt.” He sighed again, “Anyway, he and I fought a lot while you were recovering, and then one day he just stormed out of the house. I never saw him again. I thought… I thought he ran away from home. Couple years later, the murders happened and they found his body.”

“Samuel was Henry’s son?”

“Yes,” William nodded. “Sammy was Henry’s only living child. He and two of his friends, who were also the ones who caused your accident, disappeared and were eventually found inside the animatronics, along with the body of Sammy’s twin sister, who went missing years ago.”

“They caused my accident?”

“Yes,” William nodded his head.

“I thought you and uncle Henry were friends though. Why would Sammy hurt me if you were friends?”

“Just because someone is my friend doesn’t mean you have to be friends with their children,” William laughed. “Now, enough of this topic.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Michael’s forehead. “I was actually coming in here to tell you that the food was here. Let’s go eat before it gets cold, alright?”

“Oh, can I have Plush back?” Michael held his hands out for his toy. “You turned him off.” He added, “I don’t want him locking up.”

“Oh,” William laughed softly and handed the toy back. “Sorry, habit.”

-

Plushtrap woke Michael in the middle of the night when he suddenly dived beneath the covers and buried himself against Michael’s stomach. Michael blinked, and then went still when he felt someone sit down on his bed. He kept his eyes closed as his father’s fingers lightly combed through his hair.

He was used to this, but he wondered why Plush seemed so afraid. A light brush of lips against his jaw, and then on the shell of his ear. He never understood why his dad liked to kiss him while he was asleep, but he’d done it for as long as Michael could remember, and it didn’t seem weird anymore – not that Michael had anyone who he could ask about it.

He’d been homeschooled since his accident, and Aunt Sarah was really the only adult he saw. It would feel awkward if he just suddenly asked her if it was normally for his dad to climb into bed with him sometimes. He really didn’t mind, it was nice to be cuddled, even if he was getting a bit old for it.

“Are you awake?” William sounded amused.

“No.” Michael cracked one eye open and smiled, “Okay, maybe.”

“Go back to sleep, you silly thing.” He kissed Michael’s nose once before standing up. “I need to go to work.”

Michael huffed loudly before rolling over to face the room, knocking Plushtrap away from his stomach. “Why so early?”

“The animatronics are acting up again.” William told him with a small smile. “Why?”

“Because usually you stay longer.” Michael frowned.

William let out a soft laugh before returning to the bed. With a mocking shaking of his head, he stretched out beside Michael and wrapped his arms around him, his fingers combed through Michael’s hair and he held him. “I’m glad you let me do this.” He breathed.

Michael blinked, “Isn’t this normal?” he asked.

William stilled for a moment, “For us, yes.” He said with a small nod. “This is normal.”

Michael pressed his face against his dad’s chest. His work shirts were soft, and they smelled strangely sweet – his work clothes were washed differently than his other clothes, Michael mused. His eyelids were getting heavy again, and the gentle feeling of his dad’s hand running up and down his back was lulling him off to sleep.

He felt the gentle press of lips against his own as he drifted off completely.

-

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I disappeared for a while - life decided to kick me. Spend a good chunk of time in the hospital, and have spent even more time just being sick. Still sick, but such is life I guess. I can't promise regular updates, but I'm going to do my best here.

When he thought about it later, Michael would remember that quiet morning the most. His father had already gone to work, and Michael woke lazily. For a long moment, he simply lay in bed. He knew it was his imagination, but he could almost smell his father’s scent still clinging to the pillows. As a child, that scent had comforted him more than any other – or at least he thought it did.

It was easy for him to be forgetful. His father told him that that was to be expected, he was damaged after all, but mostly it just annoyed Michael.

He dragged himself out of bed, only to realize that Plushtrap was nowhere to be seen. He checked the most likely of places first. His desk, under the bed, and even the shelf where he put his collectables – the toy was nowhere to be found.

By the time afternoon arrived, Michael had torn the house apart looking for Plushtrap, but the Rabbit toy was well and truly gone. He eventually gave up the search and wandered into the kitchen, his shoulders slumped and heavy. He made himself a sandwich, but hardly touched it. Instead, he poked at the bread, wondering why his dad had bought this particular brand when he knew Michael didn’t care for it.

A glass of soda was added to the dishes on the table, and Michael did drink that. He wasn’t supposed to drink too much soda, but today seemed like a good day to break the rules a bit. Plus, Michael was sure he knew where his toy had gone.

It had been obvious from his father’s actions the day before that he didn’t like the tiny animatronic Michael had designed. Michael’s only hope was that his father had taken it to work with him with the intent on studying it – not outright destroying it.

Not that Michael thought his father would destroy it – not really. Uncle Henry had joked that William Afton liked animatronics a hell of a lot more than he did people. Michael frowned as the thought drifted through his head, a memory? He didn’t remember as much of his childhood as other people did, but he was sure that that was something Uncle Henry had said about his father.

Uncle Henry had always been teasing his father, Michael smiled faintly. He remembered that the teasing had bothered him as a kid, and sometimes he and Vincent would argue with Uncle Henry – because their dad loved them a lot, loved them more than the machines he created.

The smile slipped from Michael’s face as he rose and carried the plate and cup back out to the kitchen. He tossed the remains on his sandwich into the trash and set the plate and cup in the sink. He could’ve washed them, adding them to the dishes in the dish washer that was still waiting to be run, but he didn’t. He wandered out into the living room and flopped down on the sofa, closing his eyes as a headache began building behind his eyes. His father had probably set out his pills already, all he had to do was get up, go back into his bedroom, and take one of the blue pills from the organizer. The blue ones were for his headaches, but they made him tired, and he felt slow and stupid after taking them.

Michael was pretty damn tired of feeling slow and student. He was always one step behind everyone else, but five steps behind his father. He should’ve known Plush would go missing if he showed him to him – the same way he should have known there was more to the story than he’d previously thought.

What had happened to all those kids?

Michael opened his eyes and groaned, loudly. Now he was thinking about the newspapers again. He wasn’t sure what to make of it all. Now that he had the information, it was easier to remember Vincent, but he couldn’t be sure he was remembering him right. Sometimes he was a teenage boy who looked a lot like Michael did now, and sometimes he was a young man, with sad eyes. But Michael didn’t think his brother had lived to be the young man – though maybe he had and Michael had it all wrong inside his head again.

The phone rang.

Michael turned and grabbed the hand-held off the charging port. He hit the on button and brought it to his ear. “Hello, Dad.” He greeted, knowing without looking that it would be his dad calling to check in on him.

“Not even close,” Aunt Sarah said with a quiet laugh. “Sorry to bug you at home, Michael, but I was wondering if your dad left any papers for me to pick up.” She had a nice voice, even if it still sounded a bit sad. Not that Michael blamed her, she’d lost her whole family – his dad would probably sound the same if anything ever happened to Michael.

“He didn’t say anything.” Michael told her, “but I can give him a call and find out if you want.”

“I can call him myself,” Sarah teased, “but thank you for offering. How’s the new animatronic?”

“Plushtrap?” Michael frowned, “I think my dad stole him.”

“William stole him…” Sarah made a sound of annoyance. “Somehow I’m not surprised. I’ll yell at him when I talk to him next. Goodness knows he doesn’t need to be messing with your toys when he’s supposed to be making me some new animatronics.”

“He mentioned that. You’re going to open another Freddy’s right?” Michael asked.

“I am. It’ll take some time, but I owe it to your uncle to give this one last shot. The only problem is that we’re having a difficult time finding employees. Everyone… well, they all remember what happened at the other locations.”

“The murders?”

“Either your memory came back with vengeance and with extra details added in, or you’ve been looking things up on the internet that your dad probably frowned at.” Sarah chided. “Yes, Michael, I mean the murders.” She sounded tired again, like she was worn down around the edges. “People still believe that the killer got away free, and that the man who was arrested for it all was just some innocent bystander. Half of them blamed your Uncle for it… as if he would kill his own…”

“I’m sorry for bringing it up.” Michael said when Sarah lapsed into silence. “I want to go have pizza when you open up the new place.” He said firmly. “Knowing my dad, the animatronics are going to be amazing!”

He could hear Sarah’s smile through the phone. “Yes, they are.” She agreed. “I’m going to make sure Henry’s legacy isn’t tainted by darkness forever. He deserves something good to be remembered by.”

-

Michael was seventeen when the last Freddy’s pizzeria opened. He did go and get a slice of pizza there, hitching a ride with one of the kids from his social group – the social group that seemed to be made up of only kids with stupidly rich or importance parents. James was nice, he thought, but spoiled and with no idea that not everyone could throw money at a problem to make it go away.

Michael had lied to his father before leaving the house. Lied again when he said he was taking Plush with him to show off to his friends. The tiny animatronic never did work right after the day spent with Michael’s father. A subtle check of the inner workings showed Michael that a lot of things had been changed – and a tracking chip had been added into the toy, along with an audio chip that Michael was pretty sure allowed his dad to listen in on his conversations.

That had been okay when he was younger, but now it was just annoying. So, Plush stayed tucked away on the shelf at home, and James dropped him off in front of the block building that housed Freddy’s. It wasn’t much, he mused as he looked the building over. The place had been open for a while, and already he could see the wear and tear.

There was a girl manning the front desk when he came in. She had bubble gum pink hair, a lip ring, and an attitude that only teenage girls seemed to have mastered. She wore the bright purple t-shirt with Freddy’s logo on it, the uniform cap was discarded on the desk next to her.

“Welcome to Freddy’s…” She trained off when she looked up from her phone and saw Michael standing there. “Please tell me you’re here to ask for a job.” She leaned forward, “You are, right?”

“Uh, I didn’t know you guys were hiring.”

“Nightshift,” The girl said, standing up. Michael caught sight of her nametag, Jamie. “Can’t keep a guard for more than a week.” She admitted somewhat sheepishly. “Miss Fazbear is going a bit crazy, what with having to find someone new every week, and then I guess they always leave the place kind of a wreck because she has to call in a cleaning service every week, too. I mean, what sort of mess could someone make before they leave?”

Michael was pretty sure his head was spinning with how fast the girl was talking.

“Let me get Scott, he’ll interview you.” The girl darted away before Michael could tell her that he wasn’t really interested in a job, but the mention of Scott brought him up short. He remembered talking to Sarah about Scott, one of the only employees who’d worked at all the locations. Sarah had thought that maybe Scott was the murderer, but he’d been Vincent’s best friend – and Sarah thought that maybe he and Vincent had been close to being more than friends, but they hadn’t been given the chance to work out their feelings for one another.

Jamie returned a few minutes later. “Scott is just finishing up with a phone call, go ahead and head to the office. It’s off to the left, down the hallway, and then a right.”

Michael shrugged his shoulders, adjusted his backpack, and headed into the main party room. On stage, some ragged looking Animatronics were playing a broken sounding song. Michael came to a halt, watching with a  slight smile as a bunch of children dashed through the room, on their way towards the game room. He shook his head when he caught sight of Pirate’s Cove. No matter how much money Sarah threw at that attraction, no one seemed to be able to get the Fox to work for more than a few shows. Even his father had come out to try and fix Focy up, and come away with a gash across his arm from the animatronic malfunctioning during the repair.

Michael watched the curtains flutter – for a second he thought he saw the Animatronic leaning down to look through the curtains, the glowing eyes locking on him for just that single moment. He shuddered and forced himself to shake the mental image away. It was his imagination, obviously. But as Michael walked across the party room, he heard Foxy humming behind him. He turned to look back at the curtained stage, and it was obvious the animatronic was indeed on, and watching him closely.

“That’s a waste of money.” Michael said under his breath. He glanced once more at the stage, and was treated to the sight of Freddy glitching, his mouth opened horribly wide as his audio track skipped. “And you need oil, badly.” He added, ignoring the distant memory that told him he should be afraid of the animatronic.

But it wasn’t Freddy who had crushed his head in – it was Fredbear, the animatronic that was now nothing more than an old suit that Sarah kept locked away in storage. His father had asked for the suit to be returned to him when the last place closed, but Sarah had insisted that it was Henry’s suit, and William already had the Golden Bonnie suit, there was no need for him to have both of them.

Scott was just hanging up the phone when Michael ducked into the office. He was a tall man, with brown hair, soft eyes, and a kind smile.

“Jamie said you were interested in…” Scott trailed off. For a moment, he didn’t seem to be able to place Michael, and then he smiled. “Mike.” He got to his feet and pulled the teen into a warm hug. “Good lord, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. It’s been years since I last saw you.”

Michael let out an awkward sort of laugh as he gently pat Scott’s back. “I wish I could remember when the last time was.” He had no problem poking fun at his own lack of childhood memories. “How’ve you been?”

“That’s right, Sarah mentioned that you lost a lot of time when you were healing.” Scott gestured to the empty visitors chair before he flopped back down into the rolling chair behind the desk. “and I’ve been good, other than trying to find someone to put up with the weirdness here.” He gestured towards the tablet, which was displaying the various camera feeds from the pizzeria.

“The girl with the pink hair mentioned as much.” Michael frowned when he noticed a note on the desk explaining battery limits after 12. “Why is there a battery limit?”

“It’s… hard to explain.” Scott laughed awkwardly. “Basically, Sarah doesn’t want to pay for us to be on the grid during the night, so we’ve got a generator out back to power the place overnight. Problem is, the generator isn’t actually big enough to run this place. It’s supposed to just run the freezer if we have an extended outage. Use too much power, and you’ll either blow it, or use up all the gas… and for reasons, you don’t want to make a run through the building to go and try to turn the thing back on.”

“What reasons.”

Scott sucked in a deep breath.


End file.
